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Sunday, January 07, 2007

The Virgin Jolie

The Exchange - The Virgin Jolie

I found this extremely interesting. I'm always fascinated by how modern men and women make such a big deal over celebrity type individuals, such as Jolie, Princess Diana, Spears, etc. that you would think they worshiped these people.

Some actually do I suspect. In any case this woman paints a picture openly exposing that sense of the fawning publicity-cult, and what does she generate... lots of publicity. Not that I blame her, in order to expose some defects in the character of a society you often have to employ the very natural and common means, as well as make use of the self-same defect, in order to establish your point. It is a form of visual, ironic, satire. Still, I find the reaction to the treatment as humorous in many ways as the failure to acknowledge the cause of the disease.

The Real Question is: "Fame, where is thy Sting?"

The Answer of course is: "He's awaiting a new concert tour to promote his Greatest Hits album."

Painter depicts Jolie as Virgin MaryPosted 1/7/2007 8:28 AM ET

This photo provided by Chelsea Galleria shows the painting "Blessed Art Thou," by North Carolina artist Kate Kretz that features actress Angelina Jolie and her three children hovering in the heavens above a Wal-Mart. Kretz says it addresses "the celebrity worship cycle."

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina artist intrigued by the public obsession with celebrity has found herself feeding that obsession with a painting of actress Angelina Jolie as the Virgin Mary hovering over a Wal-Mart check-out line.Kate Kretz has painted for 20 years but none of her previous work has garnered the attention given "Blessed Art Thou," showing this weekend at Art Miami, an annual exposition of modern and contemporary art.The painting has gotten much attention from celebrity websites and blogs. Since the buzz started, the number of daily unique visitors to Kretz's own blog has jumped from an average of 30 to 15,000 on Wednesday."My intention was to ask a question and get people to think," Kretz said in a telephone interview Friday from Miami. "I had no idea so many people would be asking a question and thinking."The painting — acrylic and oil on linen — depicts an angelic Jolie in the clouds, holding her newborn daughter, Shiloh, with children Maddox and Zahara at her legs. Below them is a Wal-Mart checkout line. The painting is for sale for $50,000 through Chelsea Galleria in Miami, which represents Kretz.On her blog, Kretz, 43, said the painting addresses "the celebrity worship cycle." She said she chose Jolie for the subject "because of her unavoidable presence in the media, the worldwide anticipation of her child, her 'unattainable' beauty and the good that she is doing in the world through her example, which adds another layer to the already complicated questions surrounding her status."Washington Post art critic Blake Gopnik, asked to comment about "Blessed Art Thou" on a Post blog, was unimpressed. "Once you've deciphered it, there's not much chance of giving it a second look," Gopnik wrote.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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